Have You Threshed Recently
Not too many people have the opportunity to thresh their own grain nowadays. Even the original physical method of threshing has been replaced by large, automated threshing machines.…
Shem ben Noah
When the great flood that inundated the world began, eight people entered the ark: Noah and his wife, Na’ama, and their three sons and three daughters-in-law. Because Noah and Na’ama had…
What’s in the Book: the Twelve Prophets – Amos
Amos was a herdsman of Tekoa, who prophesied during the reign of Kings Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judea. Amos’ initial prophecies declared that the neighboring city-states…
Five Wise Sisters
Few women are mentioned by name in the Torah, and those who are, are generally the major players (i.e. Sarah, Rachel, Miriam). Yet twice in the Torah, Mach’lah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and…
A Spiritual Diagnosis
Common wisdom, and often specific regulations, discourage doctors from diagnosing or healing their own close family members. In such cases, the necessary objectivity is often missing.…
Read At Mincha
The climax of the Shabbat morning service is the Torah reading, which is often accompanied by great ceremony and beautiful chants. It is also an “interactive” ritual, since numerous…
Fences
The Bible commands the owner of a home with a flat roof to put up a ma’akeh - a fence - around the roof, so that blood will not be on the owner’s hands (Deuteronomy…
Touched By An Angel
Virtually all topics concerning life are covered in the vast and varied discourses of the Talmud. Life, afterlife, and even pre-life. In Talmud Niddah (30b), the sages discuss the…
Moving Day
All the boxes have been packed. The moving trucks are waiting outside, loaded and ready to go. The house is empty. Only the mezuzot remain on the doorposts. Wait. Before you pull out…
A Loan For Charity
Giving charity is one of the best known precepts of “religious” life. Making loans, however, is not. The Torah instructs (Deuteronomy 15:7-8) that if there is a needy person within your…